Batting average .208 Role Baseball player Home runs 10 Weight 102 kg | Runs batted in 21 Career start 2011 Name Curt Casali Salary 509,000 USD (2015) | |
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Current team Tampa Bay Rays (#19 / Catcher) Similar People Kevin Kiermaier, Brandon Guyer, Logan Forsythe, Tim Beckham, Brad Boxberger Profiles | ||
Casali, Suarez lead Reds past Marlins - 4/11/19
Curtis Michael Casali (born November 9, 1988) is an American professional baseball catcher for the Tampa Bay Rays of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2014.
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Amateur career
Casali was born in Walnut Creek, California, but raised in New Canaan, Connecticut. Casali attended New Canaan High School, where he also starred in basketball, and football as a quarterback, leading the team to a state championship. Casali earned first-team All-State honors in football and baseball, and was named the second best prospect from Connecticut/Rhode Island in the June 2007 draft.
Casali played college baseball at Vanderbilt University. During his four years at Vanderbilt, he had a .316 batting average, a .430 on-base percentage, a .502 slugging percentage, 27 home runs, and 167 runs batted in (RBI). Casali made it to the College World Series finals twice with Vanderbilt, but finished as runner-up each time.
Professional career
The Detroit Tigers selected Casali in the 10th round of the 2011 Major League Baseball draft. He made his professional debut that season for the Connecticut Tigers. On March 25, 2013, the Tigers traded Casali to the Tampa Bay Rays for Kyle Lobstein. The Rays assigned him to the Charlotte Stone Crabs and then promoted him to the Montgomery Biscuits. In 35 games with Montgomery, Casali hit .383 with a .483 on-base percentage and .600 slugging percentage, with five home runs. Overall, he hit .317/.405/.489 and 10 home runs. In 2014, he was invited to spring training by the Rays. He returned to Montgomery to start the 2014 season. He was promoted to the Durham Bulls in May.
On July 18, 2014, Casali played his first major league game against the Minnesota Twins. He recorded a hit in his first at bat and a run later in the inning. On July 28, 2015 Casali hit two home runs in one game against the Detroit Tigers. One night later, Casali repeated the feat by hitting two homers against former teammate and fellow Vanderbilt alum David Price.
Casali opened the 2016 season in a platoon with Hank Conger. Casali hit .169 before being optioned to the Durham Bulls on August 4, 2016.
